Branson leaves Abu Dhabi with AirAsia uniform(GMM) Sir Richard Branson left Abu Dhabi on Sunday with an AirAsia stewardess uniform in his luggage.

It was given to him by Tony Fernandes, the owner of the low-cost Malaysian airline and the F1 team currently known as Lotus.

At the beginning of the season, Fernandes and fellow airline owner Branson, figurehead the Virgin team, wagered that the worst of the F1 newcomers would host the other on a low-haul flight -- dressed as a stewardess.

"He'll have to work the whole flight. He'll have to serve, he'll have to clean, he'll have to clean the toilets," Fernandes is quoted by Reuters, after Lotus Racing finished the 2010 season in the coveted tenth place.

Virgin finished last, behind HRT.

"Watch out London-KL," Fernandes wrote on Twitter.

Smiled billionaire Branson: "The only positive thing is we own 20 per cent of his company so I'll be able to get some promotion for a company I have a stake in."

Also defeated and leaving Abu Dhabi with a much heavier heart is Mark Webber, who finishes the championship just third and was absent as Red Bull partied loudly on Sunday night to celebrate Sebastian Vettel's title.

"He's down really, to be honest with you," his father Alan admitted.

Weber suspects Williams have signed Maldonado(GMM) Willi Weber has reiterated reports that his young charge Nico Hulkenberg is set to leave Williams.

The famous driver-manager made the announcement earlier in Abu Dhabi, but 23-year-old Hulkenberg then revealed that he is scheduled to do the Pirelli test late this week.

"Nico will leave Williams. They're not negotiating any longer. They have probably already done a deal with Pastor Maldonado," Weber is quoted by Express.

Fascinatingly, the Cologne publication mentioned Ferrari as a possible alternative employer for Hulkenberg, and said Weber had met with the Italian team on Saturday.

After the race, Webber was a notable absence as Red Bull celebrated its double championships. The Australian gave a terse "yeah" when asked if he will be back with the team in 2011.

Also asked if Webber will be back, Mateschitz answered: "I know Mark wanted a clearer position within the team and I can understand his disappointment.

"But he will go on with us."

The Austrian billionaire said Red Bull's strength now will be "continuity".

"We now have our dream team, with the right people in the right positions.

"Of course, our people get many offers, but the entire team is staying together," added Mateschitz.

Red Bull switch not tempting for Hamilton(GMM) After a double championship defeat to Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel in 2010, Lewis Hamilton insists he is not tempted to switch to the energy drink-owned team.

"There is not one bit of me that feels I will ever want to drive for Red Bull," the Briton is quoted by the Mirror as saying in Abu Dhabi.

"It doesn't have the character, the history or the appeal to me that McLaren has," added the 2008 world champion.

Hamilton, 25, finished the 2010 standings in fourth place, behind both Red Bulls and also his former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, who now drives for Ferrari.

But he insists that McLaren is his team of choice.

"My hero Ayrton Senna drove for this team and I have always wanted to," he said.

"Red Bull have done a fantastic job and huge congratulations to them for winning the constructors' championship.

"Of course, I want my car to be as good as that. I could be here for the next 10 years in this team," added Hamilton.

"I believe they have got the most potential out of everyone."

Schumacher was one of the first to congratulate Vettel

Fellow German Schumacher delighted with Vettel's successMichael Schumacher walked away from a life-threatening accident on Sunday and later paid a warm tribute to his young friend and newly-crowned champion Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel became only the second German, after his boyhood hero Schumacher, to win the title as well as the youngest in Formula One history.

'I'm quite happy for him because we are friends and it has been a tough year for him,' said Schumacher, who won his last title in 2004 with Ferrari and returned to the sport this year after a three-year hiatus.

'He's had up and downs and he has had to go through, probably, more on the mechanical side than on the driving side - so he really deserves this championship.

'Well done to him, well done to the team. They all did a great job. My time was a different time from his time. I just feel very happy for him. I think he deserves all the credit.

'He is a great driver and he is a fantastic guy, so I am more than happy for him.'

Red Bull must keep delivering or lose Vettel - owner(GMM) Red Bull will have to keep delivering a top car to Sebastian Vettel, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has admitted.

The 23-year-old, groomed through the ranks by the energy drinks company, became F1's youngest ever world champion against the odds in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

"He will be a world champion a few times more," said Austrian billionaire Mateschitz on Austrian television ORG, "provided he is sitting in the right car.

"We will do our best to give that car to him," he added.

"If we are not able to, we will have to let him go somewhere where he can be champion again," said Mateschitz.

Vettel's current contract runs only to the end of next year, with an option for 2012, but Red Bull has expressed interest in extending the deal through 2015.

His next agreement will be worth much more money, Willi Weber has warned.

But he thinks Vettel has missed out on F1's headiest days of driver earning power.

"I have a feeling that Michael (Schumacher) and I had the best time in F1, with which you can no longer compare," the famous driver manager told SID news agency.

"Today there is less money available," added Weber.

Fernandes wants feedback on possible Lotus name change(GMM) Tony Fernandes on Monday admitted he is not ruling out a name change for his formula one team in 2011.

The Malaysian is locked in a bitter naming dispute with Group Lotus and its carmaker owner Proton.

He has bought the 'Team Lotus' name from David Hunt, but Group Lotus has retracted the official 'Lotus Racing' naming license because it reportedly wants to enter F1 next year with a separate project.

Fernandes admitted in Abu Dhabi that he wants to keep using the Lotus name but sounded reluctant to let the dispute spill into court.

"So we are going into final stretch of name change," he wrote on his @tonyfernandes Twitter account on Monday. "Do we keep or do we start brand new identity(?). Please let me know."

Fernandes also 're-tweeted' a reply from a follower who said "I hate Dany Bahar", a reference to Group Lotus' chief executive.

French commentator Jean-Louis Moncet wrote in his Auto Plus column at the weekend that Fernandes is open to dropping the Lotus name if he is paid out by Group Lotus or the Malaysian government.

The team's technical boss Mike Gascoyne said in Brazil a week ago: "For me, the job I do doesn't alter if the name changes."

Losers Webber, Alonso and Ferrari face reality of defeat(GMM) As Sebastian Vettel soaks up the spotlight, Mark Webber has admitted he is dreading the next few days.

According to the Australian press, he had booked a holiday straight after Abu Dhabi to Oman; a perfect spot to get over the disappointment of losing the world championship to his adversary and teammate.

Instead, he was ordered aboard a communal flight to Salzburg for energy drink Red Bull's victory celebrations and press conference -- and encouraged to pose happily with Vettel for a photograph as he prepares to wear the number 2 on his RB7 in 2011.

"It's going to be a pretty tough few days," the 34-year-old admitted to the Melbourne newspaper The Age.

Webber, who skipped Sunday's jubilant garage scenes at Yas Marina circuit, said there will also be "an empty feeling" to the looming championship celebrations, even though he played his part in Red Bull's constructors' title.

"I've been involved in the team for a long time, and I know we've done some pretty good things over the last couple of years, but it'll be hard," he said.

"When the target's that high and you just miss with the arrow, there's a long way down emotionally," admitted Webber.

Also down on Monday is F1's other defeated championship challenger, Fernando Alonso, who admitted "waking up was hard" after losing his points lead the night before.

The Spaniard will feel even worse when he picks up the Italian newspapers. Corriere dello Sport called Ferrari's strategy error an act of "hara-kiri".

La Gazzetta dello Sport said the Italian team "threw away the title", but the country's Olympic committee president Giovanni Petrucci called for calm amid the criticism.

"You can also finish second in sports sometimes," he insisted. "There are also opponents -- congratulations to Red Bull and Vettel."

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